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For years, it was decried as “electronic heroin” by the Communist Party, the
pixelated poison of the screen-based gaming industry corrupting, damaging
and enslaving the minds of China’s youth.

And as a result, since 2000 Super Mario and his friends and rivals have been
absent — officially at least — from the bedrooms of Chinese teenagers, after
Beijing outlawed the sale of video games consoles.

But perhaps for not much longer. Reports in state newspapers yesterday quoted
a Ministry of Culture official saying that Beijing was reviewing its ban on
video games consoles, potentially allowing Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft to
sell PlayStations,